The present invention relates to a recipe computer system and method. More specifically, it relates to use of a recipe computer to provide a single timeline when preparing a plurality of dishes. (As used herein, xe2x80x9cdishxe2x80x9d shall mean a particular kind of food, not a plate or other container for food. xe2x80x9cDishesxe2x80x9d will likewise refer to a several particular kinds of food.)
When preparing a meal having several different dishes, it is sometimes difficult to have all of the dishes ready at the proper time. Indeed, a beginning cook may have difficulty timing even a one-course three-dish meal so that all dishes are ready at the same time. Taking a simple example where the meal consists of broiled salmon, green beans, and rice, diners are unlikely to enjoy the meal if the salmon is left in the oven and dries from overcooking because the rice is not ready. Likewise, if one of the three dishes gets cold while waiting for another of the three dishes to be ready, the quality of the meal will be reduced. The goal is to have all dishes of such a simple one-course meal ready at the same time or as close as possible to the same time. This is difficult for a cook looking at different cook books or looking at different pages of a single cook book. Flipping between recipes for the different dishes, the cook is more likely to make a mistake such as forgetting a step or mistiming a step.
A more experienced cook would be less likely than a beginning cook to have problems in a simple one-course meal, but may still be challenged in timing different dishes when there are a larger number of dishes and/or the meal is a multiple-course meal. Even for a cook of considerable experience, cooking a meal having one or more new dishes may present the same sort of problem that a less-skilled cook has with a simple meal. The problem is to keep all the recipes straight and to do each task as needed to finish each of the dishes at the right time. An experienced cook preparing a meal of more than one new dish (i.e., a dish that he or she has not cooked before) may still end up flipping between recipes. Further, even when an experienced cook knows the recipes of all dishes being prepared, coordinating the different steps and remembering when to switch from working on one dish to another can require a high level of attention that might be better directed to, for example, observing whether the pasta is al dente or whether more stirring of another dish is needed.
The flipping from recipe to recipe and the use of considerable mental energy in remembering and ordering steps from different dishes are both factors that contribute to errors which reduce the quality of a meal.
Various U.S. patents have disclosed techniques of helping a cook with the steps in preparing a meal and related areas.
The Overbeck U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,169 patent discloses a food preparation information system whereby preparation instructions are supplied in sequence. Its abstract refers to combining and preparing food dishes. Different dishes are combined for the cook""s consideration, but the individual steps in the preparation and cooking of those dishes are apparently left to the cook to coordinate. Instead of requiring a cook to shift between recipes on different pages (from a single cook book or multiple cook books), it apparently requires the cook to use menu (dish) jump or skip keys 11 and 12 to shift between different dishes or between different meals.
The Brenner U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,440 shows a recipe database system with timers for various preparation steps. The system allows easy switching between an ingredient list and a preparation instruction list. It adjusts ingredient amounts depending on serving size.
The Hungerford U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,112 patent shows a recipe calculator that scales recipes depending on the number of servings that are being prepared.
The Stanley U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,991 patent is a kitchen calculator for determining cooking time based on the quantity that is being cooked.
The Del Giomo U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,502 patent discloses a system that personalizes recipes based on food allergies and preferences.
Both the Horinouchi U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,429 patent and the Petty U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,477 patent disclose ovens with heating controlled by a recipe in a database.
Although some of the prior arrangements have been generally useful, they have often been subject to one or more of several disadvantages. Many prior cook helping processes or devices have insufficient flexibility in meal planning. For example, instructions for an entire pre-planned meal (consisting of several individual dishes) are available in cookbooks, CDs, the internet, and floppy disks. However, changes to these pre-planned meals are not possible. Instructions are for a single group of dishes in a single meal. Substitutions are not possible. The inability to pick a side dish from one meal plan and a main dish from another meal plan is a real limitation on the adaptability of those arrangements using pre-planned meals. Often such processes or devices provide insufficient detail for a beginning cook or provide too many details for an experienced cook. Those prior processes or devices that require switching from one mode to another in order to switch between instructions from one dish to another have many of the disadvantages of flipping between pages of one or more cook books. Prior processes or devices often do not work at all with multiple course meals. Prior processes or devices often require a cook to calculate totals and to calculate backwards using a recipe for a particular dish. For example, if a recipe calls for 5 minutes of a first step, 6 minutes of a second step, 10 minutes of a third step, and 3 minutes of a fourth step, the cook must add those times to get 24 minutes. Then the cook must subtract the 24 minutes from the desired serving time to get the starting time for the first step. From there the time of each step can be calculated. Finally, these time intervals are set irrespective of the skill level of the cook. Whether the cook is experienced or a novice, the preparation time for each step in the recipe is the same. No allowance is made for skill level.
Generally, prior processes or devices do not provide as much help to a cook as is desirable.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved recipe computer system and method.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a menu integration technique that combines steps from several dishes (i.e., integrates recipes) into a single timeline.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an extremely flexible and powerful technique to help cooks.
A further object of the present invention is to help cooks so that their energies can be directed to observing and controlling various cooking processes, instead of recalling routine information such as specific orders of steps or specific times of taking actions.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a recipe integration technique where a cook is automatically notified when a particular step is to be taken.
The above and other features of the present invention which will be more readily understood when the following detailed description is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings are realized by a process for automatic food recipe integration as an aid to a cook. The process includes the steps of: selecting a plurality of dishes for food preparation as part of a meal, each dish having a corresponding recipe, the selected plurality of dishes having a corresponding selected plurality of recipes, each recipe having a plurality of corresponding tasks; selecting at least one serving time associated with the meal, each serving time having one or more corresponding dishes that should be ready at that serving time; supplying the recipes corresponding to the selected plurality of dishes and the selected serving time(s) to a recipe integration computer; integrating the selected plurality of recipes into a single timeline by operation of the recipe integration computer, the single timeline having sequential tasks for the cook and corresponding times, the sequential tasks from all of the selected plurality of recipes being interleaved in time as needed to complete each dish at the serving time corresponding to it; and supplying the single timeline from the recipe integration computer to the cook such that the cook may prepare all of the selected plurality of dishes with reference to the single timeline.
Preferably, the cook selects the at least one serving time. Alternately, the recipe integration computer selects the at least one serving time. The process includes a step selected from the group consisting of displaying instructions for the sequential tasks at their corresponding times on a display operably connected to the recipe integration computer; and printing the instructions.
The integrating step includes a substep of de-conflicting tasks from each selected recipe with tasks from every other selected recipe such that the sequential tasks from all of the selected plurality of recipes allow the cook to do one task at a time.
The process includes supplying the recipe integration computer with a cook skill level and wherein greater time is allocated for some of the tasks when the cook skill level is relatively low and less time is allocated for some of the tasks when the cook skill level is relatively high.
In a particular embodiment of the process of the invention, the step of selecting of the plurality of dishes for food preparation as part of a meal is performed by a cook on a remote computer; and the process further includes the step of indicating the selected plurality of dishes in a network communication to the recipe integration computer; and wherein the supplying the single timeline from the recipe integration computer to the cook is via a network and the remote computer.
The present invention may alternately be described as a system for automatic food recipe integration including: a storage medium having a plurality of dishes and corresponding recipes; a selector operably connected to the storage medium for selecting a plurality of dishes for food preparation as part of a meal, the selected plurality of dishes having a corresponding selected plurality of recipes; a recipe integration computer operably connected to the selector and the storage medium for receiving the plurality of recipes, the recipe integration computer further operable to use at least one serving time associated with a meal, each serving time having one or more corresponding dishes that should be ready at that serving time, the recipe integration computer further operable to integrate the selected plurality of recipes into a single timeline, the single timeline having sequential tasks for the cook and corresponding times, the sequential tasks from all of the selected plurality of recipes being interleaved as needed to complete each dish at the serving time corresponding to it; and an output device operably connected to the recipe integration computer and operable to provide the single timeline from the recipe integration computer to the cook such that the cook may prepare all of the selected plurality of dishes with reference to the single timeline.
Preferably, the output device is a display and the food recipe computer is operable to cause the display to display instructions for the sequential tasks at their corresponding times. The recipe integration computer is further operable to de-conflict tasks from each selected recipe with tasks from every other selected recipe such that the sequential tasks from all of the selected plurality of recipes allow the cook to do one task at a time.
The system further includes a remote computer remote from the recipe integration computer, and wherein the selector and the output device are at the remote computer and operably connected to the recipe integration computer via a network, the remote computer being operable to indicate the selected plurality of dishes in an network communication to the recipe integration computer; and wherein the recipe integration computer is operable to provide the single timeline to the cook via a network and the remote computer. The selector is operable to select the at least one serving time. The selector is an input device associated with the recipe integration computer. The output device is associated with the recipe integration computer.
The present invention may alternately be described as a system for food recipe direction including: a storage medium having data for a plurality of dishes and corresponding recipes; a selector operably connected to the storage medium for selecting a plurality of dishes for food preparation as part of a meal, the selected plurality of dishes having a corresponding selected plurality of recipes; a recipe computer operably connected to the selector and the storage medium for receiving the plurality of recipes, the recipe computer further operable to use at least one serving time associated with a meal and a cook skill level, each serving time having one or more corresponding dishes that should be ready at that serving time, the recipe computer further operable to provide sequential tasks for the cook and corresponding times, the sequential tasks from all of the selected plurality of recipes being interleaved in time as needed to complete each dish at the serving time corresponding to it; and an output device connected to the recipe computer and operable to provide the cook with instructions corresponding to the sequential tasks; and wherein greater time is allocated for some of the tasks when the cook skill level is relatively low and less time is allocated for some of the tasks when the cook skill level is relatively high.
The system includes a remote computer remote from the recipe computer, and wherein the selector and the output device are at the remote computer and operably connected to the recipe computer via a network, the remote computer being operable to indicate the selected plurality of dishes in a network communication to the recipe computer; and wherein the recipe computer is operable to provide the instructions to the cook via the network and the remote computer. The recipe computer is further operable to de-conflict tasks from each selected recipe with tasks from every other selected recipe such that the sequential tasks from all of the selected plurality of recipes allow the cook to do one task at a time. The recipe computer is further operable to integrate the selected plurality of recipes into a single timeline.